Fungicidal composition



Patented Oct. 20, 1942 F'EICE.

FUNGICIDALV com'osnron Clarence L. Weirich, Westport, Conn, assignor to The C. B. Dolge Company, Westport, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut No Drawing. Application December 1, 1939, Serial No. 307,185

6 Claims. (01. 1s7- -3o The present invention relates to compositions for killing fungi which cause epidermophytosis, popularly referred to as athlete's foot," which latter name is commonly employed owing to the prevalence of the disease.among. persons making use of gymnasiums, locker rooms, swimming pools and bathrooms which are utilized by large numbers of persons.

The infection known as athletes foot is contagious and communicable by means of contaminated clothing and contaminated equipment, structures and floors, particularly the floors of gymnasiums, swimming pool rooms or of areas around swimming pools, and of locker rooms used in connection with gymnasiums and swimming pools, on the floors of which the skin of the feet of persons come in direct contact.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a composition which, when applied to the floors of gymnasiums, to the floor around swimmlng pools, to the floors of bathrooms, and on the floors of locker rooms used in connection with gymnasiums and swimming pools, will kill, or render harmless to humans, the fungi which cause'epidermophytosis or athlete's. foot," and thereby prevent, or lessen, the communication of the disease to persons not infected with it.

A further object of the invention is to provide a composition suitable for use in water as a foot bath, in which persons utilizing gymnasiums, swimming pools, public baths, and locker rooms used in connection therewith, may immerse or bathe their feet in order to kill the fungi of athlete's foot" which may have lodged upon, or adhered to, their feet by walking upon infected floors, equipment or structures.

I have discovered that many water soluble- Examples of compatible salts of inorganic acids which increase the fungicidal powers of phenoxyacetic acid are: sodium chloride, sodium sulphate, potassium chloride, potassium sulphate, magnesium chloride, magnesium sulphate, calcium chloride, ammonium chloride, and zinc chloride.

The composition is prepared for use by dissolving the phenoxyacetic acid and the salt in water. In preparing this solution mixtures of two or more of the salts may be employed, instead of a single salt. The composition so prepared may also include other fungicidal agents, such as paranitrophenol, or other components which are compatible with the phenoxyacetic acid and salt or mixtures of salts.

A composition including phenoxyacetic acid, paranitrophenol, water and one or more of the salts described above is a particularly advantageous composition, owing to the fact that the solubility of the paranitrophenol or the phenoxyacetic acid in the salt solutions is not sigin the prepared solution may vary within wide salt,- a resulting fungicidal power high enough 'for the purposes herein described. The salt limits, but in view of the foregoing disclosures it will be evident'to the person skilled in the art that itshould be employed in high enough concentration in solution to give, in combination with the enhancement of its fungicidal power by the concentration in the solution may also vary within wide limits in the composition prepared for use. In the composition as prepared for use in the form of a solution, I have found that the salt concentration should be at least two and one-half per cent based upon the weight of the prepared solution, since below this percentage there does not appear to be any practical or commercial enhancement of fungicidal power, so far as determinable by present known methods of determining fungicidal power. In general it is moreadvantageous to employ higher percentages of salt in the prepared solution, for

example from 6 per cent to saturation of the salt in the prepared solution. In general, the

- enhancement of the fungicidal power increases as the percentage of salt in the solution increases.

The compositions of the present invention may be prepared, by adding the phenoxyacetic acid and salt as separate reagents to the same body of water and dissolving them therein, or a mixture or the phenoxyacetic acid and salt may be preliminarily prepared and the mixture thereai'ter dissolved in water, the relative proportion of phenoxyacetic acid and the salt, without dissolving them in water, and sell these mixtures, in powdered, granular or crystalline form, with suitable instructions for utilizing them in water solution according to the present invention. The said mixtures, therefore, constitute an essential part of my invention, and are to be understood as being included within the terms of the appended claims. Since the feet of persons, coming from showers may be slightly alkaline from soap, a small amount of suitable acid material cheaper than the phenoxya'cetic acid may be included in the mixture as a butler to prevent partial neutralization of the .phenoxyacetic acid by such soap. Examples of such addition agents, which in the concentrations used are without fungicidal power, are sodium bisulfate and citric acid.

In the foregoing description and in the appended claims, it is to be noted that when refer ence is made to enhancement or increase of fungicidal powers or properties of the phenoxyacetic acid by means of the salts of inorganic acids which are compatible with the said phenoxyacetic acid, it is intended to indicate that the fungicidal powers or properties of the phenoxyacetic acid are greater in the presence of said salts than. in their absence, and that the resulting fungicidal powers or properties of a water solution containing both the phenoxyacetic acid and the salt in dissolved condition are greater than the sum of the fungicidal powers of separate solutions of the DhenoXyacetic acid and the salt of respectively the same concentrations in which the phencxyacetic ,acid and the salt are present in a minture of them in dissolved condition in the some body of solvent.

When I state herein that the salts of the inorganic acids or other substances are compatible with the phenoxyacetic acid, I intend to indicate that the said salts and other substances do not act upon the phenoxyacetic acid in water solution in such a manner as to be destructive of the iungicidai powers of the phenoxyacctic acid in water solution.

The following specific examples are given as 0.050 pound of powdered phenosyacetic acid are intimately mixed with 0.8 5 pound of fee divided solid sodium chloride.

The whole of this mixture is dissolved in gallon of water for use.

Example If form, and 0.0% pound of powdered citric acid.

' The whole of this mixture is dissolved in on gallon of water for use.

Example H! 0.050 pound of powdered phenoxyacetic acid are intimatelymixed with 0.945 pound of solid malnesium sulphate in fine crystal or pulverized form, and 0.005 pound of powdered sodium bisulfate.

The whole of this mixture is dissolved in one gallon of water for use.

Example IV 0.030 pound of powdered phenoxyacetic acid and 0.030 pound of powdered paranitrophenol are intimately mixed with 0.935 pound of finely divided solid sodium chloride, and 0.005 pound of powdered sodium bisulfate.

The whole of this mixture is dissolved in one gallon of water for use.

Example V 0.050 pound of powdered phenoxyacetic acid m intimately mixed with 0.445 pound of pow- I phenoxyacetic acid in the composition, the said salt enhancing the fungicidal properties of the phenoxyacetic acid when the composition is dissolved in water to form a solution containing at least 2 per cent concentration of the salt based upon the weight of the solution.

2. A fungicidal composition comprising phenoxyacetic acid and sodium chloride, the proportion of sodium chloride therein greatly exceeding the proportion of phenoxyacetic acid.

3. A fungicidal composition comprising phenoxyacetic acid, a water soluble inorganic sait compatible in water solution with phenoxyacetic acid, and another water soluble compatible acidic material for increasing the acidity of a water soiution or the composition over and above the acidity provided by the phenoxyacctic acid, the proportion of said salt in the composition greatly exceeding the proportion of phenorry= acetic acid in the composition, the said salt enhancing the fungicidal properties of the phcnoxyacetic acid when the composition m dissolved in water to form a solution containing at least 2%; per cent concentration of the salt based upon the weight of the solution.

a fungicidal composition comprising phenoxyacetic acid, paranitrophenol and a water soiuisle inorganic salt compatible in water solution with said piricnoxyacetic acid and said paranitrophenol, the proportion of said salt in the composition greatly exceeding the proportions of phenoxyacetic acid and paranitrophenol in the composition, the salt enhancing the fungipropertics oi the pnenomacetic acid and the paranitrophcnol when the composition is dissolved in to force a solution containing at least 2%.; per cent concentration of the salt based upon the weight of the solution.

5. E. fungicidal composition for killing organisms causing athlete's foot comprising a solntion containing phenoxyacetic acid, water and a water soluble inorganic salt compatible in water solution with phenoxyacetic acid, the proportion 'of said salt in the composition greatly exceeding the proportion of phenoxyacetic acid in the composition, the said salt and water being present in the solution in such proportions as to provide an aqueous solution of said salt of at least 2 /2 per cent, based upon the weight of the solution and said salt at said concentrationenhancing the fungicidal properties of said phenoxyacetic acid.

6. A fungicidal-composition for killing organisms causing athlete's foot comprising a solution containing phenoxyacetic acid, water, and material selected from the group consisting of sodium chloride, sodium sulphate, potassium chloride, potassium sulphate, magnesium chloride, magnesium sulphate, calcium chloride, ammonium chloride and zinc chloride, the proportion of said material in the solution greatly exceeding the proportion of phenoxyacetic acid and being present in a concentration of at least 2 per cent 

